Shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday, an avalanche occurred at Squaw Valley Ski Resort in Northern California. Five people were buried under a pile of snow. Thankfully, witnesses who saw the avalanche start saw where the group of people were when it occurred. They were able to point out where the group was, which helped search and rescue teams locate them.
According to one skier, at least three people had to be dug out of the snow during the search and rescue efforts, the Mercury News reported.
Here’s what the Squaw Valley press release said:
At 1:40pm today, guests reported an inbounds avalanche in an area near Olympic Lady chairlift at Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Squaw Valley Ski Patrol and Alpine Meadows Ski Patrol immediately responded to the scene, and were joined by Placer County Sherriff’s Office, North Tahoe Fire, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, and Homewood Ski Patrol. Five guests were caught in the avalanche, two females and three males. One guest suffered a serious lower body injury and was transported by North Tahoe Fire Department to Tahoe Forest Hospital. Another guest was rescued by Squaw Valley rescue teams, transported to the Tahoe Truckee Medical Group at the base of Squaw Valley, and then was subsequently released. The three other guests who were caught in the avalanche left the scene unharmed. In total, over 100 professional ski patrollers, emergency responders, and multiple avalanche rescue dogs responded to the incident. Rescue teams performed numerous searches and ultimately cleared the scene. All reported missing persons are accounted for at this time, and search operations have officially concluded.
The trigger of the avalanche is unknown at this time, but a full investigation of the incident and its cause will be conducted.
The resort was closed the rest of the day but reopened Saturday.
Dramatic video shows the race to rescue survivors after an avalanche at Squaw Valley. Witnesses describe a huge wall of snow slamming into more than a dozen skiers and borders. This group dug out a man buried. At this point it's believed everyone survived. pic.twitter.com/7HsI1mrzo3
— Tom Miller (@KCRAMiller) March 3, 2018
Here is the Squaw avalanche rescue from higher up on the mountain. By the end more than a dozen people are helping uncover the buried man. Video: Marjan Breault pic.twitter.com/yuW1FqMUf8
— Tom Miller (@KCRAMiller) March 3, 2018
